all the little things
by Starfall776
Summary: The little nuggets of gold that never seem to makeup for lack of episodes. In other words, oneshots/drabbles about anything,everything and all that lies in between.


**Hey. I…'ve decided to have fun. Soooooooo…Imgonna make oneshots for each character? Episodes, too. Lessee how it goes. This is before 'War'. It's Epic. Plus the fact I laugh whenever Supey gets pissed, whacked, or both. So I laugh a lot. This is where everyone is getting ready for War World.**

_Well, that might have gone a little bit better._

Mal thought as he and his…what? Girlfriend ? So distant now. It pained him. Ate at the corners of his vision and the depths of his heart, till he gave in to his lack of better judgment, and he donned the mantle of the Guardian again. So easy to pretend that his training with Canary and the shields might protect him. That he actually contributed to the team. Heck, he only found out everything cause of Karen. Karen. Karen. His love, the real reason why he actually did this. And they were slowly falling apart. He be damned if he allowed that.

So yeah. He just wants another reason to get closer. The Bats knew it; they were teaching him a code or something…The Non-Meta Code._ First and foremost to even the Bro Code;_ or so Nightwing had claimed. He finds it hard to think that Nightwing is NOT a total loon. Or Nightwing's metagene is something that allows him to butcher the English language, be an idiot and still escape. Meta –nerdery or something.

He winces as he bumps into Conner.

"I know We're not the closest or anything... but please...don't be stupid. Do NOT die." The clone is carefully slack and expressionless, but he feels the underlying current of emotion behind the gaze. He nods numbly. Everybody knows why he wears long sleeves anyway. Mal swallows and steels himself. His wish is granted later, in the heart of the metal behemoth, now hanging in space.

* * *

Conner swallows hard. Memories burn hot in his brain, like the scars in his forearm and knuckles. Mementoes of dashing after the Joker after he killed Jason, and accepting shields from Lex. Again. Lex was being a douche and gave him shields to test his strength as he put it. _Then,_ he gave Joker knives and all that stuff. Didn't stop him. Joker still hobbles now after too much stress from the Big Black Bat, (not that he was on Earth, anyway) and Harleen Quinzel has had her incisors replaced. (Nobody knows where the telekinesis came from.) Lex gave him the offer again, this afternoon, Metropolis, when he told Conner that his satellites had already detected the WarWorld.

He was very tempted. The power of Superman would make it so easy. He was nothing, anyway? Kill him. Clone him better. He couldn't even _fly._ The invasion would be over. Nobody cared about him, except the minor exceptions. The team only saw this Superboy. The one who comforted only Gar after Artemis…'s deception and disappeared soon after. The one who pushed them so hard in training.

Then Lex made the mistake of saying that he might not have enough power to save everyone and he mentioned Mal. Guardian, of course.

But the damage was done. He cast a scathing, pleading look towards the other passengers in the damn limo. Most of them ignored him. Except Virgil Hawkins, who let electricity dance across his fingers before clenching it into a fist. He murmured two words nobody else could hear. Conner stood up, exited the limo, but not without saying something to them.

"If it's any help, I'm sorry as well." He closed the door and made ten steps before rushing full speed towards the zeta beam, suddenly terrified out of his life for his friends…no, teammates. Friends were people like Lois. Or Jimmy.

It didn't change the panic flaring in his stomach. He hugged Gar, ruffled Impulse's hair and clasped Cassie's shoulder. He doesn't think he can lose another one, thinking about the little shrine in Atlantis he visits so regularly now. He still thinks about her, especially as he walks around the corner, looking at Mal and seeing the nervous, shy girl on her first mission all over again.

**Review? Even smiley faces would be nice. I'm planning on continuing this.**


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